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In early 1942 the American Eighth Air Force existed on paper only. Within twelve months it was a formidable fighting force in daylight raids over Germany and by 1945 was mounting the first two thousand bomber raids. In this episode of the Explaining History podcast, we hear from military historian David Dean Barrett about the ‘Mighty Eighth’ and the strategic bombing of Germany. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We con
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During the First World War, much of the fighting occurred in colonial Africa, which in 1918, the victorious powers believed could not rule itself. President Woodrow Wilson of the USA and Britain were able to collude on a neo colonial mandate system that mainly benefited them at the expense of France. All three had agreed that it was unthinkable that former German and Ottoman colonies be returned. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert i
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One of the defining features of American political discourse in the 21st Century is the almost unstoppable rise of political lying. Throughout the Obama presidency an ecosystem of right wing think tanks, commentators and of course Fox News has propagated everything from willful distortions of events and selective readings of policy to outright fabrication. Donald Trump recognised the political potential of this when he became the centre of the ‘birther’ movement, which alleged that Barack Obama was not born in the USA and was ineligible to be president. Conspiracy theories in American politics have deep roots, however and one of…
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For the Republican Party in the 1940s and 1950s, the only means of attacking the Democrats was by inflating the fear of communism and accusing their rivals of treason. In 1951, following the dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur for challenging the authority of President Truman, Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin used the end of MacArthur’s career to boost his own, and to suggest that it was the result of ‘treason’. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical con
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In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the belief that anything was now possible in the reshape and redesign of societies was widespread in the liberal capitalist and communist worlds. The role that planning had played in the victory over fascism was beyond doubt and politicians, intellectuals, planners and citizens in Europe, Asia, America and Africa saw the post war era as an opportunity to harness the power of the state to transform society. A fringe group of economists and think
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Following the Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917, class based terror and repression of social and political enemies became central to the party’s attempts to establish itself. In addition to this, the savagery of the civil war and Lenin’s belief that a parallel class war needed to be waged saw the earliest improvised camps, of which there were 107 by 1920. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to
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By the end of the First World War, the British, French and American Armies were using gas more effectively than Germany, and the German Army’s ability to resist gas attacks was crumbling. After the war, the view in Britain that gas had been a uniquely German crime persisted, as did the fear of gas use in future conflicts, particularly against civilians. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the presen
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The long battle of attrition by the Japanese Army against the resilient US Marine Corps on Guadalcanal began with serious miscalculations by Japan. Both sides saw the island as a linchpin in the Pacific War and Japan’s over confidence and their imperial over stretch led to their eventual defeat, but not before inflicting immense losses on America, on land and at sea. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the pas
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Following the victory over Japan at Midway, the US Navy was unprepared for a devastating defeat inflicted on its landing force at Guadalcanal. The Japanese sought to control islands close to the sea lanes vital to Australia’s survival; shutting them off would bring the country to its knees and prevent it becoming a staging post for the liberation of Asia and the Pacific. The commitment of America to Guadalcanal would lead to one of the bloodiest campaigns of the Pacific war. Explaining History h
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The Battle of Midway was the first major victory of the US Navy in the Second World War, resulting in the loss of four out of Japan’s six carriers. This devastating defeat was not the end of Japan’s war in the Pacific, but it signalled the start of a downward trajectory from which Japan would not deviate, despite the ability to inflict losses on America until the end of the war. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We con